First Kiss
by tvrox
Summary: This is an L/L. The beginning takes place in the past, but is then changed to pre-season three time. There may be some Literati in the background, but there won't be too much focus on Rory. This is a joint fic with sweetangel251. R/R please! :-)
1. TGIF

First Kiss  
by Margaret (tvrox) and Lauren (sweetangel251)  
Part 1: TGIF  
  
A/N: Okay, this is our all new fic! It's going to be a major L/L, because L/L is the coolest. We're trying to be original. Yeah, we know that everyone says that, but we have the whole fic planned, and it should be quite origninal.  
  
Disclaimer: Hi, we are actually Amy Sherman-Palladino and Lauren Graham. We have infinite control over all that goes on in the show. Everything that is posted here is a spoiler and could turn out to be either a spinoff show of Gilmore Girls or an episode. JUST KIDDING! What are you, crazy?  
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Lorelai's POV-1983 (Or whatever year, Lorelai's 15)  
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The bell rang, and we were free. TGIF! I picked up my books and walked out of trig. Nicole was waiting for me by my locker. As I packed up my bag, we talked.  
  
"You know, Lor, there's this party tonight, and these seniors invited Pete, and he told me about it. You wanna come?" she said.  
  
"Well, I dunno, you know how my parents are, but I'll try. Where is it?" I replied as I hoisted my backpack on to my back and grabbed my coat.  
  
"It's at Tiger Paw, it starts at 8," supplied Nicole.  
  
"Tiger Paw? Isn't that where all the college kids hang out? How do we get in?"  
  
"Girl, where have you been for the past 15 years?" Hmph. Nicole was mocking me.  
  
"S-so," I began nervously, "we use fake ID's?" I had never liked high society, but I didn't hate it enough to break the law to get out of it.  
  
"No da!" cried Nicole. "So are you coming?"  
  
"I guess." We had reached my front door. I rang. I heard footsteps, and soon, Felicity answered.   
  
"Miss Lorelai," she said shyly, "let me take your coat. Your mother is waiting to have an afternoon tea with you in the parlor."  
  
"Thanks Felicity," I said. "Bye, Nikki!" I called as she walked away. I handed Felicity my coat and bag, smoothed my shirt and skirt, straightened my tie (A/N: Incase you can't tell, Lorelai wears a uniform) and walked into the parlor. "Good afternoon, Mother," I said.  
  
"To you to, Lorelai, have a seat, I'll pour you some tea."  
  
"Thanks, Mom." I grabbed two cookies. I was hungry.  
  
"Lorelai, where are your manners? ONE AT A TIME," Mom corrected. Ugh. So much for TGIF.  



	2. Phone Conversation

Authors' note: Well, we are back, once again! Ok, one thing that Lauren would like to point out is that Paulo is the Gilmores' driver… it's not like he's some weird freaky man that Emily is cheating on Richard with… because then… wow… then Lorelai would really come from a screwed up family. Which, if you've seen that episode where Lorelai is trying to give back that ice cream maker that was a present for her and Max's wedding, you know that she does come from a screwed up family… but what Lauren was trying to say was that Emily and Richard aren't as screwed up as the rest of them… Wait… is that what Lauren was trying to say? The world may never know…  
  
Disclaimer: Lauren is still sitting there wishing she was Lauren Graham… she really should look into getting a life because neither Lauren or Margaret has anything to do with the actual show, even though we both love Gilmore Girls…  
  
~*~  
  
I was sitting in my room doing history homework. History homework I didn't understand at all.  
  
I threw down my pencil. "THAT'S IT!" I yelled. I picked up the phone and dialed Nikki's number. She picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"NIKKI, WHY DID THE RENAISSANCE BEGIN?" I shouted.  
  
"Umm.....because it did?" Suggested Nikki.  
  
"NIKKI, HELP ME!!! I DON'T GET THE HOMEWORK!!!!!!!!" I shouted  
  
"WELL, NEITHER DO I, SO I'M SORRY!!!!!" She yelled back.  
  
"HMPH!"  
  
"HMPH!" Added Nikki. There was a pause. "Why don't we just leave history for later? Right now I want you to tell me whether you're coming with me to that party at Tiger Paw tonight."  
  
"I can't, my mom will say no," I replied.  
  
"Then lie to her. Tell her you want to come to my house for dinner."  
  
"Um...okay, hold on," I answered hesitantly. I walked down the stairs. "Mother," I began. "I've been invited to Nicole's house for dinner tonight. May I go?"  
  
"I don't see why not, Lorelai, that's a very nice invitation. What time does she want you there?"  
  
"Half-past-seven," I replied, thinking about how much more polite and polished I was around my mother than around my friends.  
  
"All right, I'll have Paulo drive you, be dressed and downstairs by a quarter-past seven."  
  
"Yes, Mother," I replied as I turned and rushed upstairs. I picked up the phone. "Success! I'll be at your house by seven-thirty."  
  
"Okay, see you then! Bye!"  
  
"Bye, Nikki!"  
  
~*~  
  
Ok, now here's where you can help us out! You see that little lovely button on the bottom of your screen? Yes, there it is. It's telling you to review! That button is your friend… it would be very happy if you would click on it… yup… there you go! Now, was that so hard?! We didn't think so… haha Thanks a bunch! 


	3. The New Kid

First Kiss—Chapter 3

By Margaret (tvrox) and Lauren (sweetangel251)

I was getting ready to leave for the party.  I had called Nikki back.  The plan was for Paulo to drive me to her house, where we would arrive about 7:30.  At 7:45, Nikki's boyfriend, Pete, a junior with a driver's license, would pick us up and drive us to Tiger Paw for the party.

I had to leave in 15 minutes, and I had no idea what to wear.  Ordinarily, it would have been easy.  But this was a special case—I needed to leave the house in something my mother would find acceptable, but be able to easily change into something for the party.

Finally, I decided.  My outfits weren't the greatest, but at least they worked.  I put on a pair of blue jeans, my nicest pair.  They weren't Mom's favorite, but they would do.  Then I put on a tank top, and over that, a very plain and conservative red long sleeved sweater.  In my bag, along with my wallet, gum, and lip gloss, I put one of my "cool" sweaters—something I'd bought on my own that my mother never would have approved of.

I looked in the mirror.  I was fine.  I quickly put on a little make up and headed downstairs.  Paulo was waiting for me.

"Miss Gilmore," he said in an Italian accent, "are you ready?"

"Yes, thank you, Paulo," I replied.  We walked out the front door, and the car was waiting.  He held open the back seat door for me, then got in himself.  

At exactly 7:30, we arrived at Nikki's.  She was waiting for me on her porch.  "Hey, Lorelai!  What's up?" she called.  "I'm glad you could come!"  She looked at me strangely.  "You look….great," she said.

"Don't worry," I mouthed, then turned back to Paulo.

"I will pick you up?" he asked.

"No, thank you, Paulo, one of Nicole's parents will drive me home," I said, knowing it wouldn't be Nikki's mother or father—but Pete.  I said what I had to say, he never would have accepted, 'Nicole's boyfriend will bring me home,' and I knew it darn well.  

"All right, Miss Gilmore, but remember, your mother wants you no later than 10:30."

"Okay, Paulo, thanks!"  Paulo left.

"So," said Nikki when he was fully out of sight, "what's with the outfit?"

"Don't worry," I replied again.  "I'm prepared."  I quickly changed sweaters.  I also took some little colorful clips I'd thrown in my bag and put them in my hair.

Nikki smiled.  "Much better," she replied.  "Gosh, you sure have gotten used to dealing with your mother."

"Yeah, well, it's forced on me."

We sat down and talked for a few more minutes about, surprisingly enough for a Friday evening, that History homework we didn't get.  Soon, Pete arrived.

We got in his car, and struck up an entirely new conversation, as Pete had different History homework.  

"So," began Pete, "did you hear there's going to be a new kid at the party?  I don't know how he got invited to a college party, but we're supposed to like be nice to him and stuff, cause there are only going to be a few high school kids there."

"Hey, Lorelai, maybe we could hook you up with him," said Nikki with a mischievous look in her eyes.  "You need someone.  All our other friends have boyfriends, except you."

"I don't know," I replied.  "What's his name?"

"Something Danes," replied Pete, "like maybe Lucas.  Yeah, I think that's it."

"Like I said," I continued, "I don't know."

We arrived at the club very shortly.  Sarah, Derek, Emily, and Taylor were waiting outside with forlorn looks on their faces.  When we asked them what was wrong, they announced that another high school kid had just had his fake ID rejected, and that we probably shouldn't risk it.

Just then, another guy walked up.  He looked like a bit of a geek.  He was really thin and even taller.  But, like Pete had said, I tried to be nice.

"Hey," I said to him.  "You must be Lucas."

"Please, Luke," he replied.  "So, what's up?"

"I'm here for the party," I replied.  "You are too, right?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get in."

"Agreed," I said with a nod of my head.  

"Hey!" said Derek.  "My folks are out of town.  "Let's head to my house and have our own party, just the eight of us."  

We all agreed.  We piled into the different cars we'd come in, and we set off for Pete's house.


	4. Gone But Not Forgotten

First Kiss, Chapter 4 Seven Minutes of Heaven, or Gone but not Forgotten By Margaret (tvrox) and Lauren (sweetangel251)  
  
Author's Note: Hello, this is Margaret. I have been writing all the past chapters, with guidance from Lauren. However, this is the last chapter of the past. Chapter five will mark a time warp eighteen years forward to present day, where Lauren will begin writing and will take over until the end of the fic. So say goodbye to me for now, as well as Nikki, Pete, Sarah, Derek, Taylor, and Emily, because they're all characters who won't appear in the present. Now, on with the story. Enjoy! We were all at Derek's house. Our party wasn't much of one, as there wasn't much to do, and he didn't have much food in the house. But we had some chips and soda, music to dance to, and games to play.  
  
However, it had taken so long to get ourselves organized that by the time the party started, it was already about 9:15. Nikki had called home and told her mother that we were at Derek's and we'd be a bit late.  
  
Now we had been dancing and eating and just generally partying for quite awhile, and it was late. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 10:30. I was supposed to be home. But I didn't want to go. I figured that since Nikki had called home, it was okay to stay a bit late.  
  
"Hey, guys," said Taylor, "let's play seven minutes of heaven!"  
  
Everyone agreed, but Luke and I were the only ones who were nervous. Everyone there but us had kissed a guy-or in half the cases, a girl-before. We hadn't.  
  
"Okay!" Emily took charge. "Everyone take a little piece of paper and write your name on it so we can pick names from a hat!" We did.  
  
We flipped a coin to see who would pick names-the girls or the boys. It landed girls. Nikki volunteered to pick first. Fortunately for her, she picked Pete's name. So they headed for the closet.  
  
They emerged exactly seven minutes later, and it was my turn. I closed my eyes, reached for the hat, and carefully picked a slip of paper.  
  
I opened my eyes and looked at it, and saw the one word that, little did I know, would change my life forever. Luke. I made eye contact with him, and we walked towards the closet. To us, it was the forbidden closet.  
  
When we got inside, it was pitch black. Luke reached up and pulled the string that would turn on the light.  
  
"I don't think you're supposed to do that," I said. "The rules say we're supposed to have the light off."  
  
"I guess, but don't you like it better this way?" he asked.  
  
"Well, yeah," I conceded. There was a long pause. "This is awkward," I said. Luke looked at his watch.  
  
"Four more minutes," he said. There was another long pause. "Two more minutes."  
  
"This is really awkward," I added. "I guess we're supposed to kiss. Have you ever kissed a girl before?"  
  
"Never. Have you ever kissed a guy?"  
  
"My mother would have a fit."  
  
"So that's a no?" asked Luke.  
  
"It's a NO WAY." I confirmed. "Though I'm not sure I'd mind it if I did."  
  
"Well, the whole point of this game is that we're supposed to kiss, so why don't we?" suggested Luke.  
  
"Why not?" I said.  
  
"But we'd better do it fast-we've got less than a minute," he answered, looking at his watch again.  
  
And then he kissed me. It was better than I'd ever imagined it could be. It was like all my troubles, everything that had ever gone wrong, were gone for just a moment. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I ignored it.  
  
Luke looked at his watch, pulled away, and whispered, "Time's up."  
  
We turned off the light and stepped out of the closet, where we were met by a very angry Paulo.  
  
"Miss, it is eleven o'clock. At ten-thirty-five your mother sent me out for you, but you were not at Nicole's. Nicole's mother informed me of where you were and told me how to get here. And when I arrive I am told that you are in a closet kissing a boy you don't even know? What am I going to tell your mother, when you get home and it is nearly midnight?"  
  
"Please, Paulo," I begged. "Don't tell her I came here. Tell her Nicole and I were studying and lost track of time. Please, if you promise never to tell her, I'll never stay out late again."  
  
"Then how am I to explain the fact that we return nearly an hour after I set out to find you when Nicole's is fifteen minutes from your house?"  
  
"Tell her there was traffic, please."  
  
"All right," he agreed. "But only if we leave now." He headed for the door, and I followed him. We got into the car, and began to drive home.  
  
About halfway home, raindrops began to fall, harder by the minute. I looked out, and remembered every time I'd driven somewhere in the rain. The car had always been my favorite place to be in the rain, it just felt so cozy.  
  
And then, out of the blue, I realized something. I would most likely never see Luke again. He went to a different school, and I didn't have his name or address. And how would he ever reach me-I'd never even told him my name!  
  
So Luke was gone. But I'd always have that kiss to remember him by. He was gone, but not forgotten. 


	5. Dinner With a Duke

Authors' Note: Hey everybody!!!!! We're back!!!! haha Actually, what's going on is we're back into the present time now. Lorelai's all grown up. And, just to let you know, Margaret wrote all of the chapters before this one and I (Lauren) wrote this chapter and will write all of the rest, unless we tell you differently. However, we both planned out the story and we both edit. So, anyways, I hope you like it and if you wouldn't mind pressing the lovely little review button on the bottom and typing a small message, we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks and I really hope this is ok!  
  
Disclaimer: Lauren is 14 years old and Margaret is 13. We obviously don't own the rights to Gilmore Girls or Kate and Leopold (don't ask. you'll see.). Maybe someday we will though! You never know! haha  
  
~*~  
  
I yawned and stretched as I rolled out of bed. At first, I was rather pleased because it was the last day of the working week. Then I remembered three things. One was that I had to go to my parents' for dinner that night. Another was that Rory was still in Washington. The third came a few moments later after I had a chance to process my thoughts in my barely functioning brain. My last realization was that because Rory was in Washington, I'd be facing my parents alone. All three realizations together helped to change my spirits from high to downright low.  
  
Therefore, by the time I got ready and went downstairs, I was miserable and cheerless and prepared for a completely gloomy day. If what people say about how your attitude can make or break your day was true, then I was going to have one heck of a day.  
  
Right after I had closed the front door behind me and just as I was walking down the porch, the phone rang. "You have GOT to be kidding me," I thought to myself. I ran, or attempted to run in heels, back up the porch steps. At this point, the phone was already ringing for the second time. I ran up to the door only to remember that it was locked. The phone rang yet again as I dug into my purse and got my key. I shoved the key into the lock (during which the phone rang again), turned the key and opened the door while the phone rang for the fifth and final time. The answering machine picked up as I searched for the phone and the familiar message of my own voice played, "Hi, we're not here right now. If you're calling for me, Lorelai, that's great. Leave a message and I'll get back to you if I like you and I can find time in my busy life to talk to you. If you're calling for Rory, well, that sucks for you because she's currently being her smart self in Washington and won't be back for a while and therefore she can't talk to you." Then came the long beep that signaled whoever was calling to begin talking.   
  
Just hearing my mother's voice filling the room made me sink even lower into my misery, if that was possible. "Lorelai, I really don't think that is an appropriate message to have on this thing. And the word 'sucks' is rude and obnoxious, but then again so is the rest of that message. And I truly hate talking into these things. But anyways..." As my mother finally paused to take a breath that I am sure she greatly needed after that exhausting rant, I had a moment of triumph during which I found the item that had been so greatly sought after.  
  
Before my mother could begin another long speech I pressed the on button on the phone. "Hello Mother," was my only attempt at enthusiasm.  
  
My mother's voice brightened slightly. "Why Lorelai, hello. I was just calling to make sure that you're coming to dinner tonight."  
  
I tried not to sound like I was talking through grit teeth. "Yes Mom, I'm coming to dinner tonight."  
  
"Wonderful because I invited someone for you to meet. But I have to go now. Good-bye Lorelai." I swear that my mother's voice was dripping with satisfaction and that just made things all the worse.  
  
I tried to catch her before she hung up, "Wait! Mom..." but in return I heard only a dial tone.   
  
I stood in the center of the family room trying not to completely explode on the spot. I strongly believe that if there had anyone else standing in the room at that moment with me, they would have seen smoke coming from my ears and nose. And that would not be a pretty sight to behold.  
  
By the time I arrived at my parent's doorstep that night, I was in somewhat better spirits because my day hadn't turned out nearly as badly as I thought it would, but I was in no way happy. However, I forced myself to knock on the door and remembered my promise to Rory to be as pleasant as possible to my mother.   
  
The maid of the week, Alicia, opened the door and led me into the living room. Sitting there were my mother and father in their usual spots and then right near them a surprisingly handsome dark-haired man in a suit. I assumed, that this was the man my mother was going to try and set me up with. And at first, I wasn't so sure I minded. Then my mother spoke and I remembered exactly why I would never date anyone she tried to set me up with.  
  
"Why hello Lorelai. You're running a little late today."   
  
I cringed. "Mother, please, not now I've had a rather horrible day."  
  
Mom ignored my comment. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. Lorelai, this is Jake Petersen. Jake, this is my daughter, Lorelai Gilmore."  
  
Jake got up from his seat and shook my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lorelai." He looked deep into my eyes and nearly took my breath away. But I couldn't think of that. I couldn't think of good things in a man that my mother picked out for me. I would not let myself feel the least bit attracted to him. But that was difficult.  
  
"It's good to meet you too, Jake." I smiled, but then I saw my mother smirking and my smile quickly turned to a frown.  
  
I have to say that Jake was not the worst guy that my parents tried to set me up with. He was definitely not the worst. In fact, he actually had a sense of humor and didn't seem to get caught up in materialistic things either.   
  
I tried so hard to not show that I was actually enjoying myself, but I think my mother could tell that I was. This frustrated me greatly and therefore, right after desert I decided that I would have to end the night. "Mom, Dad, it's been a nice evening and I appreciate dinner, but I have to go home now. I have to get up early to go to work tomorrow. The inn's hosting a big wedding and Sookie will be a nervous wreck and I really need all the sleep I can to be able to deal with that." I did my best to seem sincere and to remember to be polite so my mother wouldn't be after me the next time we spoke.  
  
Mom frowned, but said, "Well, if you really have to go, then so be it."  
  
I used my fake smile that I'm sure my mother knew so well by that point. "I really do have to go, Mom."  
  
Mom, Dad and Jake stood up from the table as I stood, displaying good manners that made my stomach churn. It reminded me of some of the reasons I hated high society in the first place.   
  
I walked to the door and the rest of the group followed me. I turned to them and said, "Thank you again, Mom and Dad. I'll see you next Friday. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Jake."  
  
"The pleasure was all mine, Lorelai. Will you allow me to walk you to your car?" He held out his arm like a perfect gentleman and I did the best I could to not stare at it like it was diseased.   
  
I saw my mother beaming out of the corner of my eye and I came to my senses. "Oh, that's really unnecessary."  
  
He waved away my words with his hands. "Nonsense, I would be honored."  
  
At that point I had no choice but to take the arm he was offering and walk out the door. Once we were outside, I attempted to snap back to my normal witty self, thankful that I no longer needed manners because I wasn't around my parents. "Your manners rival those of an eighteenth century duke."  
  
Jake laughed. "It's high society. It's how I was brought up. I can be fun too, you know. Some of my manners are just an act."  
  
I smiled. "Well, then allow me to rephrase that: your acting skills rival those of Hugh Jackman." [A/N: I (Lauren) am in love with the movie Kate and Leopold. Lorelai's last two lines are in reference to that movie. and if you didn't already understand that, than you haven't seen that movie and in that case, shame on you because it's great! Ok, I'm done advertising the movie now. lol]  
  
Jake laughed again and then turned serious. "Lorelai, I hope this isn't too forward of me, but I truly like you and would really like to get to know you better. I was wondering if you'd be interested in going to dinner with me tomorrow night. I realize that you have a big wedding tomorrow at work, but maybe we could get a bite to eat after that."   
  
He had deep, blue eyes and I found myself getting lost in them. I think I must have gone momentarily insane, but I couldn't stop the words from slipping out of my mouth. "That sounds good."  
  
"Can I pick you up at 7:00 then?" Jake asked, looking excited.  
  
"Yes, but you don't know where my house is," I said, coming back to my senses.   
  
"Well, can I meet you somewhere then?"  
  
"Ummm. sure. how about Luke's Diner? It's in the center of Stars Hollow."   
  
"I know where that is and that sounds great. They make excellent coffee there."  
  
I nodded, half smiling because I had remembered that Luke and I were still fighting. But I could still meet Jake there. We'd just leave right away. "Yes, they do."  
  
Jake was now smiling brightly. "Great, so it's a date then."  
  
I used my fake smile again. "It's a date."  
  
He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Ms. Gilmore."  
  
He opened the car door for me and I got in and whispered, "Bye," just before he closed the door. I sped out of that driveway as quickly as possible, not wanting to think about how much my mother would be gloating next week, knowing that I had accepted a date from one of her pre-approved suitors.   
  
I suddenly felt a major headache coming on.  
  
~*~  
  
Ok, so that's it. hope you enjoyed it and please review so we can post the next chapter quicker! 


	6. VERY IMPORTANT

Hello Everyone~  
  
This is Lauren writing and I ask you to kindly take a few minutes to read this letter. This will not be a full chapter but I would like to address a situation that has been brought to Margaret's and mine attention. This note is regarding an extremely rude reviewer (whose review has been deleted, by the way) who said that we "ripped this story off." Let me say one thing: WE DIDN'T. Neither Margaret or myself would ever even dream of doing something like that, because we have morals and we believe that anything of the sort is completely wrong. This story is completely original, as far as we know. We planned it out very carefully and have written the story ourselves. We are NOT taking credit for someone else's work. Neither of us has ever read something that's like our story at all. If there are other stories out there that are like our stories, we did not know about them at all and it is purely a coincidence. Like good fanfic writers, we always try to be original.  
  
I hope you all know that we were deeply insulted and hurt by the reviewer's accusation, because it was certainly not true. We hope that even after this incident we will still have some readers out there and to all of you: thank you so much and we appreciate your support so much, as always. The next real chapter should be up by the time the weekend comes around. Bye for now! 


	7. VERY IMPORTANT PART 2

Author's Note Number Two  
  
Dear Everyone~  
  
This is Margaret. On Lauren's request, I am writing the second author's note. We have read the reactions to the first author's note, and we would like to swear once again that we did not steal this story from anybody. It was in the works for several months before we even posted it, and it was posted a fairly long time ago. We would like someone, if they can, to please tell us the name and/or author of the story that is so similar on stars-hollow.net. We would like to look into this further. We have searched the site, but as the stories have no summaries, it's hard to find a story. Please let us know. If you can tell us the name of the story, we'll read it, try to talk to the author, and give you a further update. If people truly want us to stop writing our story and delete it, we will, but we hope that we will be able to leave it here, because it has taken great effort to get where we are, and we'd like to finish what we started. Also, take this into consideration? How similar are these two stories? Because there's a difference between copying or similarity and plagiarism. Plagiarism is copying someone else's writing, word for word, or almost so, and saying that it is your work, without giving that person credit. Copying can sometimes happen when a person reads someone's story and they like it so much they use the same general plot and characters, but try to go their own way, and do not copy that person's writing word for word. This is not meant as an insult, but purely as an honor. And unintentional similarity between two stories means one thing-and one thing only: Great minds think alike! Once again, we'd like to remind you that we'd never even dream of ripping off someone else's work intentionally.  
  
~Margaret (and Lauren) 


	8. The Monarchy of the Insane

Author's Note: Alright, first of all, I just wanna say that I'm so sorry it took so long for me to actually write this. I was crazily busy and just not inspired. but I really hope that this makes up for my lack of writing in a way and that we still have some readers out there.  
  
SO, as you can see, we have decided to continue with our fic. We hope that all can be forgiven and that you will all realize that our story IS original. Thank you also for the amazing support we've received. It means SO much to us. All we ask is that if you have a problem with this story because you think we "ripped it off" of someone, please refrain from flaming us. We have already decided that we will continue writing this fic because we feel very strongly that this is original. If we have offended anyone in writing this, we apologize sincerely, but once again, we ask you to not flame, but instead simply discontinue reading our story.  
  
Ok, moving on. just so you know, this is me, Lauren, writing this chapter. it picks up basically where the last chapter left off. I hope you like it! Oh, and please, please, please review! I really like hearing suggestions and feedback and it'll motivate me to write more and faster! hehe  
  
Disclaimer: For once I'm going to be official and that we do not own any rights to Gilmore Girls or the movie Kate and Leopold (which is mentioned again in this chapter).  
  
~*~  
  
As soon as I stepped a foot into my house, the phone rang. Luckily, after the incident from that morning, I had put the phone in its charger on the table. I picked it up and with a tired sigh said, "Hello?"  
  
I smiled when I heard the voice on the other end. "Wow. not even an attempt at a crude joke. what happened?"  
  
"Rory! God, do I miss you hun!"  
  
"Ok, now you're scaring me. what happened?" Rory asked with anxiety in her voice.  
  
"Ugh. Rory, I just agreed to go out with a guy that your grandmother was attempting to set me up with!" I cringed even as I listened to my own voice saying those words.  
  
"What?! Why?! Who is it?!" The shock was easy to recognize in my daughter's voice.  
  
"His name is Jake and. well, I don't know why! It was so weird! I actually think I really like this guy!" I waved my hands around in an obvious sign of confusion, even though I knew Rory couldn't actually see me.  
  
"Well, tell me what happened!"  
  
"Well I was having this horrible, horrible morning because I was running late."  
  
"No surprise there." Rory interrupted.  
  
"Hush you! This is my story!"  
  
"Sorry Mom. Continue."  
  
"Well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." I said pointedly and Rory just sighed, "Your grandmother called and said that she was inviting a guest to dinner. And she didn't even give me time to say no! She just told me and then hung up!"  
  
"That's because she knew that you would object to her plan," Rory pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, well. whatever! Anyways, so I had a really crappy day and I showed up to dinner and BAM! He was there, and well. he was good looking and funny and my evening turned out to not be as bad as I thought it would have been."  
  
"Oook. so when did he ask you out?"  
  
"I was just getting there. after dessert I said that I had to leave because I have to host a wedding at the inn tomorrow. So, I was saying good-bye, and Jake insisted on walking me to my car."  
  
"Aww. how very charming and high-society-ish of him!" Rory squealed mockingly.  
  
"Sweetie, I don't think 'high-society-ish' is even close to being considered a word."  
  
"Hey, it's 10:30 and I have had a long day filled of Paris."  
  
"No, sweets, you're in Washington D.C.," I said jokingly.  
  
"Mom." Rory whined.  
  
"All right, I'm sorry. Do you want to go to bed? You can call me tomorrow if you want." I hoped she would want to talk to me instead of going to bed, for my own selfish reasons. But, hey, it was not my fault that I missed my baby girl!  
  
"No, it's ok Mom. I wanna hear your story. plus if I get off the phone now Paris will probably wanna go over tomorrow's agenda and prepare, and I'm really not ready for that yet."  
  
"Ok, you sure?" I asked, concerned.  
  
"Absolutely. just move on with your story."  
  
"Right, ok. Yeah. Umm. sooo."  
  
"You left off at the part where he walked you to your car," Rory supplied.  
  
"Oooooo! Of course. thanks! Ok, so yeah. he walked me to my car and I made some sort of reference to Kate and Leopold."  
  
"What?!" Rory was confused.  
  
"I was talking about his manners and how they were like Leopold's or something witty like that."  
  
"Oh, of course."  
  
"Right, so then he told me that he usually didn't act like that. He said it was only how he acted around high-society."  
  
"Aww. but there's something so charming about a modern day Leopold."  
  
"Yes, but there's also something so very annoying about that."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Right. so then he said that he really liked me."  
  
"Awww."  
  
"Yeah, well now we get to the bad part."  
  
"Uh oh."  
  
"This is when he asked me out."  
  
"Oh, he should definitely be arrested for that. Actually, never mind being arrested. he should be banished from the country all together. He should be to Yemen or Sri Lanka or some other unknown place where people probably have like no rights. of course I'd have to do the research on that. but I'm just guessing. Cuz don't you think Yemen and Sri Lanka just sound like odd names for a country?" Rory's voice held a good deal of sarcasm.  
  
"You have been away from home for far too long. it's affecting the power of your brain."  
  
"Yeah, well enough time spent with Paris and other power-crazed teen leaders from around the country can do that to a girl!"  
  
"Point well taken. Right. so I didn't even get to the worst part of my story yet."  
  
"Oh this should be good."  
  
"I said yes! Rory, what is wrong with me?!"  
  
"Mom, relax. You met a guy that you like and he asked you out and you said yes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that." Rory's voice was soothing. It just made me miss her more.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm going to go out with a guy that my mother approves of! I don't think I've ever done that before! I've gone completely crazy!"  
  
"Mom, you went crazy a looooooong time ago. In fact, I think you were born crazy. I mean, you are the queen of insanity. all crazy people bow down to you. and."  
  
I interrupted her, "Ok, sooooo not helping right now, hun. And besides, if I'm the queen of insanity, then you are the princess of insanity and then we've got a whole insanity monarchy going on and I thought we didn't like monarchies."  
  
"We don't. I'm sorry I even opened that can of worms. But you really need to relax. It's just one date. I'm sure it will go fine! You can get to know Jake and see if you like him. If things don't work out, than that's just going to have to be ok with Grandma." Rory was calm and reasoning once again. She usually was when I needed her to be.  
  
"But see, that's just the thing. she won't be ok with it! And besides that, I swear. I think this is the first time I've dated a guy that my mother had picked out for me! And it's scaring me!"  
  
"Mom, just go on the date. Try and have a good time. Don't worry about Grandma and everything else until after the date, ok? You owe it to Jake and, most importantly, yourself."  
  
"Ugh, how did you get so smart?!" I asked smiling.  
  
"Must have been luck," Rory joked.  
  
"Must have been. ok sweets, I'm gonna let you go. I want you to go to bed and get a good night's sleep, ok? Oh, and tell Paris to give ya the night off. say that you had to deal with a family emergency."  
  
"I'll try. but I hardly think that your dating crisis counts as a family emergency. Well, not in Paris' family anyways."  
  
"Yes, but in our family it's a major crisis. explain that to your darling roommate."  
  
Rory laughed. "Like I said, I'll try."  
  
"All right. By hun. I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Mom. Call me tomorrow after your date if you get home before twelve, ok?"  
  
"Oh, I'll definitely be home by twelve."  
  
"K, so I'll talk to ya then."  
  
"Ok." I was about to hang up the phone but then I remembered something and pulled it back up to my ear. "Oh, wait! Rory!"  
  
"Yup, I'm still here."  
  
"What should I wear?!"  
  
I could tell Rory was smiling on the other end. "How about your black skirt with the slit and that pretty blue top that brings out your eyes? Oh, and your strappy black heels. That outfit gives the 'Hi, I'm pretty and stylish, but not high maintenance because I don't take hours to get ready. I can just pull out something as cute as this from the back of my closet.'"  
  
"Oooo! I have taught you so well! Thank you!!!" I exclaimed with delight.  
  
Rory just laughed and said, "Good night, Mom."  
  
"Night babe." I hung up the phone, smiled one more time, and went up to my room to get some sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
The next night after a crazy day at the inn, what with the big wedding and all, I was exhausted. Of course, I was excited at the same time because I was looking forward to my date with Jake. I stood in front of the mirror and pulled my brush through my hair one last time. When I looked at my reflection, I saw how right Rory had been about my outfit and with my hair down, just the right earrings and a touch of makeup, I thought I looked pretty good.  
  
The doorbell rang and I made my way down the stairs, grabbing my purse along the way. When I got to the door, I opened it with a bright smile, expecting to see Jake on my porch. What I saw instead shocked me.  
  
~*~  
  
Mwahaha! lol Gotta love my cliffhanger! Once again, thank you so much for those of you who are still reading this and we would really appreciate it if you'd show us that you are still interested by reviewing, because, to be quite honest, we are both a little worried about our decision to keep writing this. So, thank you to all, and I'm not making promises, but I can almost guarantee that the next chapter will be out within the next week because I'm really excited to write it! lol Ok, so please review and thank you again! :-D 


	9. I Just Can't Forget It

Author's Note: We are so sorry that it has once again taken so long for us to get the next chapter up. I (Lauren) am to blame for that. I really am sorry. I've been extremely busy lately and things have been kind of tough, so that didn't leave me much time to write. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who is still reading this! You guys are the best and we truly, truly appreciate all of your support. Ok, so I think that's about it. this chapter picks up right where the last one left off.  
  
Disclaimer: We own none of the rights to Gilmore Girls. If we did, do you really think that Lorelai and Luke would still be "just friends" at this point?!  
  
~*~  
  
Luke stood on my doorstep, looking like he wanted to kill someone.  
  
My bright, smiling expression flew from my face and was replaced with a look of pure shock. "Luke?! What happened?! What's wrong?"  
  
"Jess left. We got into a big argument and he's gone. This is bad. This is really bad," Luke said as he stepped into my house. He was definitely freaking out.  
  
"What do you mean he left?! Where did he go? Back to New York?" I was confused.  
  
"No. He said he would never go back there, but that since he obviously wasn't wanted around here, he was going to see someone who did care about him," Luke said pointedly, but I didn't understand what he meant.  
  
"Ok, so where is he?!" I asked just as the doorbell rang, yet again. Luke looked at me with confusion and then seemed to notice my outfit for the first time.  
  
"Oh. I didn't realize you had a date tonight," Luke said and then a strange thing happened. An odd look passed across his face. It almost looked like pain. Of course, it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.  
  
I turned around to get the door with a look of confusion over my face. I opened the door to see Jake standing there.  
  
"Hey Lorelai."  
  
"Ummm. hey Jake. Listen, I think that it might be good if we reschedule our date. My friend, Luke, is here and his nephew just ran away. I need to help find him."  
  
Jake's face fell and I felt so guilty. "Oh, I see. I guess you really don't want to go out with me then."  
  
"No! No, that's not it. I swear! I really, really wanted to go on this date, but I have to stay here tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"  
  
Jake nodded, looking a little happier. "Alright. Bye Lorelai." He kissed me on the cheek and left.  
  
I turned back around to face Luke. He was looking at the ground. "I'm sorry I ruined your date, Lorelai. I just freaked out about Jess and I thought you should know that I have a feeling he's going to Washington."  
  
My mouth dropped open in shock. I hadn't even considered that was where Jess was headed. "How could you let him go there?! How could you?! God, Luke! We both know that he's a bad influence on Rory! Do you know that she skipped school to go see him in New York?! She did! And because of that she missed my graduation! I can't even tell you how that made me feel! And now you tell me that he's going to go see my daughter in Washington and you didn't stop him? Are you insane?!" I was screaming and crying and, to be honest, I'm not even sure that it was completely about Jess just running off. I think it was more of a build-up of emotions from the time of Rory's accident.  
  
"Lorelai, the last thing I need right now is you freaking out at me! I'm scared, all right?! I admit it! My nephew is out wandering around somewhere alone! And besides that, you know damn well that I wouldn't want anyone to hurt Rory ever. So don't tell me that I didn't try and stop him! Just don't!" Luke was screaming.  
  
We both stood there for a moment, breathing heavily after our screaming. Neither one of us wanted to talk first because we were both afraid of what to say. "Well what are we going to do?" I spoke softly because most of my energy had been used up during my screaming.  
  
"I don't know. I think I'm just going to leave." He turned to go and said, "Oh, and I'm sorry about your date."  
  
"No, Luke. don't go. We need to fix this."  
  
"I can fix it by myself. Just call Rory and warn her."  
  
"No not that!" He gave me a strange look. "I mean, yes, we need to fix that. but we need to fix. well, we need to fix things with us."  
  
Luke sighed in obvious frustration. "Lorelai, look. just forget it."  
  
"No, I will not just forget it! Luke. what we had. what we had was great. I came into the diner for coffee every morning, you stood there and absolutely refused to give it to me 'cause you said it would kill me and I always acted like I hated you for that. I begged. You refused. Finally, after much pleading, you gave in and I praised your very existence and your excellent coffee. This is how the coffee cycle functioned. And as much as I would hate when you fought with me over coffee, I also kinda liked it cuz it kinda showed me that you cared about me and you didn't want me to die from a caffeine overdose. But now, I go into the diner and ask for coffee and you give it to me! You don't even attempt a pathetic argument! You just hand it right over! To me, that's like you saying 'Here Lorelai, I hate you anyways, so just take the damn coffee and die a painful death. It's not like I care.' I mean, it's like if I were to ask for a knife to kill myself with, you would say 'Oh, sure, here take it.' And I know that you have a right to be mad at me, cuz yes, what I did was insensitive and totally wrong, but I don't understand why you want to throw away everything we had just because of one fight!" I was out of breath and a tear escaped my eye.  
  
"Lorelai, I don't want you to die," Luke said in exasperation. His words didn't help much and I began to cry lightly. His face twisted and he looked very uncomfortable. "No. don't cry."  
  
"Well, did you ever think about how I've felt all these months? I know I made a mistake! I obviously never want you to go to hell! And you know what, I know that I might have freaked about Jess, but how would you feel if it was anyone else, anyone other than your nephew, that put Rory in the hospital?! You would have killed them! Even if it was an accident! So try for two seconds to think how much I freaked out and how angry I was at the kid! Even if it wasn't his fault! He was there and he was horrible to me from the beginning so I'm sorry if him crashing my daughter's car and breaking her didn't give him some brownie points with me!" I turned away from him and put one hand over my face and the other on my hip. Then I spoke again, but this time timidly, "Just go. I know you obviously don't want to hear me talk anymore. So just leave. I'll call Rory. Good luck finding Jess."  
  
I turned around again and saw Luke standing wide eyed. First he stared at the door and then me. We both knew that he had to make the choice now. He had to choose whether we would be friends or not.  
  
~*~  
  
Well, you had to expect that I'd leave some sort of cliffhanger! lol Any suggestions and comments are welcome. I'm sorry if this is totally out of character. I'm doing the best I can here. haha Right, so please review and I'll try and write the next chapter to this quicker than last time. Remember that reviews can really inspire a person to write more. lol 


	10. Damage Control

Dear Readers  
  
It is I, Margaret, speaking. I am posting a response to a series of unfortunate reviews we have recieved. Our first reaction was one of great anguish and anger, and we were going to delete the reviews. But we did not want to hide the fact that people may go against us. We wanted to handle it maturely and show that despite the fact that people may speak out against us, we are self-confident and self-sufficient enough to rise to the occasion and use the problem as a way to show off our strength and perseverance.  
  
We have decided not to delete the reviews, but to post this response and to give all you faithful readers a little challenge. We don't usually name names, but now we will. The person who submitted the reviews calls themself AURIKKU. If you believe that we are good and kind and considerate people who would never intentionally rip off anybody, please say so in a review so that if AURIKKU comes back they can see how much support we have. Ordinarily we would ask you to send an email to the person, but upon trying to do so ourselves, we found that the address is non-existent, even more proof that this person is not telling the truth.   
  
AURIKKU submitted with their review a link to a website which supposedly has the first two chapters of our story. I will give you this web address again: http://lorelai.com/funstuffs/loreface/loreface.shtml  
  
Just as a little bit of proof, copy and paste this address in your browser. Or, perhaps it'll appear as a link; we're not html geniuses. You'll see that not only is our story not there, this site has nothing to do with Gilmore Girls. It'll give us a little peace of mind to know that other people share our knowledge that AURIKKU, and not us, is the liar.   
  
As in the past, we still appreciate any constructive information you have, such as the title of a story you think might be the one people are thinking of, a link to it, or the email address of someone who can give us more information.  
  
  
  
Thank you so much for your support.  
  
Happy Reading!  
  
Your faithful authors,  
  
Lauren (sweetangel251)  
  
Margaret (tvrox) 


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